For years, fashion students have learned about the lives and creative works of designers such as Coco Chanel, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent. This has only perpetuated a white, eurocentric narrative within fashion. Inspired by Gen-Z’s fervour for breaking down cultural barriers, many fashion schools are in the process of decolonizing their curriculum. This could lead to major implications for the future of the luxury industry.
Gen-Z students typically view Western-dominate narratives through a more critical lens and often choose to be more inclusive towards non-white and non-Western creatives, thereby giving them the credit they deserve.
Kim Jenkins, a fashion scholar, explains that, “Decolonisation is acknowledging and addressing all of the systemic barriers that were created through the legacy of colonialism and imperialism.” In other words, there is an attempt to disrupt a system that continuously upheld dominant groups at the expense of minority communities.
Although some theorists argue that decolonizing the fashion industry would require dismantling the system entirely before rebuilding it, many fashion academics counter that it is not about erasing Western fashion history and, instead, involves filling in the missing pieces of our understanding. Elka Stevens says, “we have to begin to decloak the myth of luxury brands — there are people of colour within those spaces, even if you don’t know who they are by name.”
Western luxury brands should embrace, rather than resist, the new ideas emerging. This may mean that older luxury brands will have to acknowledge their past mistakes. The decolonization process involves entertaining the voices that have previously been silenced. Tia Adolea, a young designer, is heavily influenced by the Renaissance era but with a modern twist. “What’s missing from Renaissance paintings is people like myself. I wanted to take the ‘fashion trends’ of that time and modernise them for every girl to be able to wear today.”
A decolonized education will help move the industry forward and lead to fresher ideas and making wiser and more informed decisions.
By Fathima Liyana Kamar
